The brother of a bride who had black paint thrown over her wedding dress has spoken out after the offender's punishment was confirmed.
Wedding days are supposed to be one of the happiest days of our lives but for Gemma Monk it turned into something of a nightmare when her sister-in-law Antonia Eastwood committed a cruel act of revenge.
Eastwood and her partner were not invited to Monk's nuptials in May 2024 after a family feud which stemmed from a disagreement at Eastwood's own wedding a year prior, as she believed that she'd been tripped up on her way down the aisle.
The 49-year-old, who is married to Gemma's brother, threw black paint over the bride's white wedding dress, has now been handed a 10-month suspended sentence, 160 hours of community service and a £5,000 fine after the Monks pressed charges.
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Telling the court about the impact of Antonia's actions, Gemma said: "To have paint thrown over me by my brother’s wife changed my outlook on life and made me question whether I had done something really bad, whether I had done something wrong.
"Since the incident, if it wasn’t for my children or my family, I don’t think I would even get out of bed to care for myself."
She added: "I have lost all my dignity and good habits in life. I have lost who I used to be."
However, while the court sided with the Monks, Gemma's brother has now spoken out about his wife's actions, which also saw her handed a 10-year restraining order, although he also added that they wanted nothing to do with his sister and her new husband.
He told The Mirror: “There's more to it. But she’s been punished now, she's suffered more than enough. We want it over and done with.” He said 'she's done what she's done' and they now wanted to put it all behind them.
He added: “I can't believe it's taken 18 months to get to this.”
Fortunately, Gemma had a spare dress and after taking some time to clean herself up, she bravely walked down the aisle, suggesting that nothing was going to stop her from getting married that day.
She said: “We had waited for that day for so long. Nothing was going to stop me. She was determined that the wedding was not going to happen. I did not think twice, I would have walked down the aisle in my knickers and with black paint over my face if I had to.”
A guest at the wedding added: "She was so determined that she wanted her day. She's strong-hearted. When she walked down the aisle with her dad, she did amazingly to hold it all together. Everyone started applauding her as she walked down the aisle. You could see a tear in her eye. She's one in a million.”
James Moorhouse